• IT'S FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR EU CONSTITUTION, EVEN AFTER 'NO' VOTES: You may have got the impression that the European constitution was dead - that the French had felled it, and the Dutch had pounded a stake through its heart. If so, think again.
• BID TO LIFT EU BAN ON VITAMINS FAILS: A challenge to the European ban on hundreds of natural health supplements failed yesterday. In a surprise decision the European Court of Justice upheld a controversial directive imposing tight controls on sales of minerals, nutrients and some vitamins. (Click here for the latest on the new legislation).
• EUROPEANISATION OF THE BRITISH ARMY: Although planning for this project has been shrouded in secrecy, the aim of FRES - a cut-price version of the Future Combat System being developed for the US Army - is to equip the British Army to take part in the EU's 60,000-strong "rapid reaction force".
• ID CARDS, NO THANKS:In the wake of the London bombings, fresh calls are heard for biometric ID cards in order to prevent terrorism, illegal immigration, even benefit fraud. Discover why this is a dangerous move in the wrong direction, even if you have done nothing wrong.
• MEP LOOS COVERED IN COKE:Traces of cocaine have been found in 41 of 46 toilets used by MEPs in the European Parliament. Levels in some loos were so high they would have been detected by police sniffer dogs, one expert claims.
  

... AND THE ROUND-UP OF HEALTH NEWS FOR THIS MONTH

• PLEASURE DRUGS: Mind-altering drugs could be as common as coffee within a couple of decades to boost performance at school and at work, to 'unlearn' addiction and to erase memories of distressing events such as terrorist attack, according to a British government think-tank.
• HOW BRAZIL NUTS CAN BEAT CANCER: A handful of Brazil nuts a day can reduce the risk of eight types of cancer by up to 76 per cent, scientists said yesterday. They are packed with the mineral selenium, which can help prevent cancer of the liver, lung, stomach, prostate, pancreas, brain, kidney and oesophagus by blocking the formation of tumours.
• MP SEEKS REVIEW OF TREATMENT OF HYPERACTIVITY: In a letter to the Minister For Health, MP Charles Hendry calls for a detailed study into the causes of ADHD and a review of the policies for the mass-prescribing of drugs such as Ritalin for hyperactive children.
  
• NEW BILL ON MENTAL HEALTH 'UNETHICAL': The Mental Health Bill will include measures to compel people to have treatment and to detain some with personality disorders before any crime has been committed, the Government said yesterday.
• PSYCHIATRIC WATCHDOG SPEAKS OUT: The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a psychiatric watchdog group, said Tom Cruise's remarks on NBC's Today Show (Friday, June 24) represent a growing public awareness about the national crisis of children and adults being prescribed mind-altering drugs.
  
• MAILBAG: This month's collection of letters from our new subscribers about these and other subjects.
  

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